Reckless
by FieryFafar
Summary: "I was reckless. And I paid the ultimate price."


I was reckless.

How can I explain the web of mess I was in?

She has said it many times.

"_Jun, be careful."_

"_Jun, stop climbing trees!"_

"_Jun, you're going to hurt yourself."_

"_Jun, I don't want to lose you…"_

I shut my eyes, my hands clamping fiercely on my face. I felt my body; light and weak. My body shivered. My head spun. My eyes felt sore, unlike any other sore – it felt like burning. My hands fell limply to the ground, lying weakly on my sides.

I remember.

I now remember every single detail, every single episode of my life. It flashed before my eyes, acting like a movie I was loathing to watch. I shut my eyes again, teeth clenching fiercely as the sound of my own voice echoed in the darkness.

"_Hikari!"_

**O.O.O**

"Hikari!"

Without waiting for a response, I pounced on my childhood friend. We both fell to the ground, her under me.

"Jun! Get off me this instant!" She screamed at my face – which I found it quite common now. My lips pursed into a happy smile, hopping out of her way. I stretched out my hand, helping her stand up.

"Hey Hikari! You know what day it is, right?" I asked excitingly, fisting my palms in sheer determination. I saw the woman sigh bitterly, shaking her head.

"Jun, I'm tired today." Hikari yawned lazily, rubbing her arms. My smile was replaced with a small frown. How could she? She promised! Today, we were supposed to go to Mt Coronet to look for some rare Pokémon. Two days ago, the news were brimming that someone had spotted a Mew deep in the cave. She was in disbelief but I was a different story. The second I saw the news, my determination flared up like a Moltres!

"Please Kari Kari…For me…" I took her hands, holding it closer to my face. My eyes caught the shade of red on her cheeks. I hid my smile with her knuckles. Her hands were trembling. Her lips were shaking. I found her act quite adorable. She would never resist the way I persuade her. It always works.

This was just the same. "Fine," she sighed heavily. I snickered victoriously and tugged her arm.

"To Mt Coronet!"

**O.O.O**

I blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

Every single blink, every single second, the world around me moved slower. Light began to fade. Darkness began to rise. I felt my feet touching the ground. I cringed as a headache panged into me. Still, my feet moved forward, into the tiny ray of light far across the other side.

All awhile, my mind hoped that I will find what I was looking for.

"Jun…I think we've gone deep enough."

I kept my pace, ignoring her advice. Heracross walked by my side, senses aware of any wild Pokémon encounter.

"Jun, are you listening?" I heard her huff angrily. Dominic barked a coaxing tone at his trainer. A small smile crept my lips. At least her Luxray was distracting her. Suddenly, I stopped without warning. Hikari bumped behind me, unaware that I've stopped moving.

"Ouch! Jun!" She hissed behind me, rubbing her slightly red nose. But I didn't listen. All I can see was a huge Golem – sleeping right in front of an opening route. A sneer painted my lips. The Pokémon was out of the way. But that won't be much of a problem for me, now wouldn't it? I glanced at my Heracross, who was itching for a battle. His horns twitched. His eyes focused on the sleeping being. My smile beamed. My Pokémon were just as determined as me. My fists clenched, ready to yell out a command. "Alright boy! Time to-"

I stopped as I felt a tug on my wrist.

I looked behind. Hikari frowned in front of me, eyes glaring, as if giving a warning. "No, Jun," she growled silently. "You're gonna cause a lot of trouble if we wake that Golem up. Besides, this part of the cave looks very fragile. One single peep and we can cause a rockslide."

I chuckled at her paranoid thoughts. "Relax Hikari. There's not gonna be a rockslide. Besides, there's an entrance on the other side of that big dude and I wanna find out where it leads to." I wanted to move forward, but it just made her grip even tighter.

"I mean it Jun. You're going to hurt yourself," she hissed roughly. "This place is dangerous. Let's get out of here." I could see the worry in her eyes; the worry for our safety – for my safety. My eyes rolled in disbelief. But her frown grew wider, breaking my heart a little.

"Jun, I don't want to lose you…" I froze at her words. It sounded mellower, heartbreaking even. I stared into her mystifying black eyes. It simmered into a sorrowful light, making my heart pound in guilt. My smile toned down, giving an assuring feeling.

"I'll be fine." Before she could say another word, I stared at Heracross. "Heracross! Jump Kick!"

**O.O.O**

The light blinded me. I cringed and hissed acidly, shielding my eyes before it got any worse. In seconds, the beam began to disappear. I looked around. Awe and dumbstruck swept through me.

There were flowers. Pink. Blue. Purple. Red. White. Black.

The wind was blowing gently, breezing through my face and body.

It took me a while to figure out where I was: Floaroma Meadow.

**O.O.O**

"See. What I'd told ya? Easy as pie." I huffed cockily. Heracross stood proudly beside the fainting Golem. It took awhile to defeat the wild Pokémon, but I knew my Heracross can take him down. No Pokémon were match for my team. Well, except for Hikari's, that is.

My childhood friend shook her head in disbelief. Dominic flashed a congratulating smile. "You are such a twit."

"Well, I gave away the route, didn't I?" I crossed my arms against my chest, smirking arrogantly at her. "And you said this place will be dangerous. Hah! Nothing can stop Jun Pearl-"

I froze as I felt a harsh wind.

Heracross zoomed right above my head, and crashed on a rocky wall.

My sunset eyes were wide as they can be. My Pokémon was knocked out!

"Jun!" I heard Hikari screamed in panic. In reflex, I turned my body around – only to see the supposedly fainting Golem – growling and standing very closely to my face.

"Oh…damn…" The Golem roared malignantly. He waved his one huge arm up in the air, ready to deliver a vicious blow at me. I shut my eyes, teeth clenching as hard as they can. I was paralyzed with fear. My body felt numb to the bone. My thoughts evaporated into oblivion. Every part of me was defenceless, ready to be torn into bloody shreds.

"Dominic! Crunch!" I heard a loud crunch. My eyes quickly snapped open, only to see Hikari's Luxray biting deeply into the Golem's hard shell. Dominic's attack pushed the wild creature backwards, giving an open space for me to escape. I felt my back being hit, arms hugging my waist tightly.

"Jun! Are you okay?" I felt the back of my shirt slightly soaking. Was she…crying? "Hikari…I'm-" My words shushed into silence as I saw Dominic's body being thrown against the wall. The loud impact shook the cave. Body covered in liquid red, the Luxray tried to stand, eyes glaring at the enemy.

My face was red in both fear and anger. With swift fingers, I took a Pokéball out of my belt. "Torterra! Leaf Storm!" My starter quickly summoned a huge gust of leaves and vines. The attack caused a huge tremor, throwing me and Hikari off balance. Even in the green mist, my eyes could catch the Golem – using his Earthquake attack the same time as Torterra's Leaf Storm.

Well, that was certainly a horrible idea.

The cave began to shake violently. I lost my balance and fell onto the piles of dirt and rocks. I could feel the ground below me shaking viciously. My sight worsened as the only things I can see were rocks, dirt, and leaves. Suddenly, my mind snapped like a bullet. "Hikari!" Each passing second was traumatizing me. The safety of my best friend was all I could think off. "Hikari!" I yelled as loud as I can, trying to regain my balance.

Walls began to crumble down. Boulders began to slide harshly. The cave roared in an ear-piercing volume, making me cringe. Finally, I heard a loud, menacing roar and an earth-shattering thud.

Golem was defeated. At last.

The area began to clear up. Black clouds of dust and soot began to disappear. Torterra quickly moved towards Dominic and Heracross, rushing to their aid.

As for me, my mind was completely stuck on one thing. "Hikari!" I screamed frantically. My palm, knee and stomach were slightly torn, giving off a small line of blood. My left cheek was scarred with a thin line of ripped skin. But that was unimportant. Hikari was – and forever will be – my first priority. "Hikari!"

I heard a loud cough. My head snapped to my right. A huge wave of relief was blown over me to see the brunette, sitting and coughing weakly against the wall. Her body didn't seem broken. Her arms and legs were still attached. Small minor cuts and bruises were seen.

But the most important thing: she was alive.

"Hikari!" My feet quickly dashed to her aid. Relief was replaced with massive guilt. I've gotten us into this mess. I should have listened to her. If it wasn't for my stubborn airhead, we will still be alive. And she will still be free from all the pain in her body.

"Kari Kari…" I muttered sorrowfully. _I'm sorry-_

My mind stopped completely to see a crashing wave of boulders and rocks falling down – right above her.

"Hikari look out!" I have never run any faster in my life. Everything happened so fast. I could see Hikari in front of me, her teary eyes wide in total trauma. I could feel her hand, as I swiftly pulled her into my embrace. I could hear her scream – as I fiercely pushed her out of the way – out of the rockslide's aim.

I could feel my mouth opening, wanting to scream, to tell her to run away.

Before everything went into total abyss.

**O.O.O**

I stood in shock. My eyes froze in horror. There, kneeling right in front of me, was none other than my beloved childhood friend.

Her back was against me. All her Pokémon – even my Pokémon – surrounded her. Her head was down. I could hear soft, sorrowful whimpers and murmurs from the team. But my heart was more focused on her – quietly sobbing with her broken, cracking voice.

"Jun…" Air was like acid as I heard her hoarse voice. "How…could you…How…" She wanted to faint. Her head felt woozy, lightheaded. All the Pokémon huddled around her. Her Empoleon hugged her beloved trainer, calming the crying brunette.

I want to hug her. I want to embrace her. I want to tell her that everything is okay. That everything is just peachy daisy. I want to hear her laugh. I want to see her smile. I want to remove all the pain and eternal sorrow that causes her so much grief.

But what can I do? The only thing I was capable of is standing hopelessly, watching as my beloved Hikari fall down weakly, crying loudly into the open skies.

As there it stood in front of her and in front of the Pokémon; was my grave.

"Hikari…" I felt my knees getting wobbly, finally letting myself fall weakly to the grassy ground. "Please…forgive me…"

She continued to weep, to mourn and wail in utter depression.

All because of my stubborn recklessness.

_**END. **_


End file.
